Book reviews by Steve Earles

Historical rebellions

The Gunpowder Plot Deceit by Martyn R. Beardsley

The
Gunpowder Plot is still a very significant part of the fabric of British
society to this very day (though this year it was Boris Johnson rather than
Guido Fawkes that was burned in effigy).

We all think we are familiar with the tale… but are we? Are we actually the victims of 17th century fake news?

Certainly
the government of Britain would have much to gain from such a plot (as long as
it failed), enabling them to increase their powerbase through fear of the
Catholic faith and enabling them to increase public hatred of Catholics still
further.

Like all good investigators, Martyn Beardsley asks the important questions. Such as how could Robert Cecil, one of history’s most notorious spymasters not have known of the plot? How did the plotters dig a big tunnel and remove tons of spoil without being noticed? Are there
any records of anyone having seen such a tunnel?

Well-researched,
and putting its ideas across well, this book would make the basis for a most
interest documentary.

It’s a
tragedy that more people don’t know about the Russian Civil War, as it was one
of the pivotal wars of the 20th century and we are still living in
the world it helped create. Had the Bolsheviks lost the Russian Civil War, we
would be living in a very different world today.

So kudos to
Pen and Sword for publishing this fine and very readable book, which is a very
good starting point for anyone wishing to study the Russian Civil War in depth.

Michael Foley is a fine writer, and is to be complimented on his work on this book.

The design and illustrations are particularly impressive. Many books on the Russian Civil War are often not best served by their illustrations but this book truly comes alive with them.